TikTok secured its US future by restructuring ownership and control to satisfy national security concerns.
Summary:
TikTok creates new US venture to avoid nationwide ban
Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX to manage the US entity
Deal resolves years of national security scrutiny
Follows 2024 US law mandating divestment or ban
Removes major uncertainty over TikTok’s US operations
TikTok has reached a landmark agreement to restructure its US operations, establishing a new venture that places control of key elements of its American business in the hands of non-Chinese investors and management. The deal brings to an end a prolonged regulatory standoff that threatened a nationwide ban of the short-video platform in the United States.
Under the arrangement, TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have created a US-based entity that will house parts of TikTok’s American operations. Management and oversight of the new venture will be led by Oracle, alongside private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-backed investment group MGX. The structure is designed to address long-standing US national security concerns by ensuring that sensitive operations are controlled by entities outside China.
The agreement effectively resolves regulatory uncertainty triggered by US legislation passed in 2024, which required ByteDance to divest TikTok’s US business or face an outright ban. Lawmakers and regulators had argued that TikTok’s Chinese ownership posed risks related to data security and potential foreign government influence. ByteDance and TikTok have consistently rejected those claims, maintaining that US user data has not been misused and that the platform does not operate under the direction of Beijing.
By transferring operational control to US-aligned partners, the new structure allows TikTok to continue operating in its largest overseas market while satisfying the core demands of regulators. Oracle’s role is expected to be central, particularly in relation to data governance, infrastructure and oversight, building on its existing involvement as a cloud and data-security partner for TikTok in the US.
For investors and advertisers, the deal removes a major overhang that has weighed on TikTok’s US business for several years. The platform’s future had remained uncertain amid repeated legal challenges, political scrutiny and the looming threat of enforcement action. With a new governance framework in place, TikTok can refocus on growth, monetisation and competition with US-based rivals in the social media and digital advertising space.
More broadly, the agreement highlights how geopolitical tensions are reshaping the global technology landscape, forcing companies to adapt ownership and governance structures to comply with national security priorities. TikTok’s US venture may now serve as a template for how foreign-owned technology platforms navigate increasingly fragmented regulatory environments.
